Kiva Pittsburgh helps financially excluded entrepreneurs fund their dreams by providing access to 0% interest capital and a community of 1.8 million supportive lenders. Over 200 businesses in Southwestern Pennsylvania have received Kiva loans!
New Sun Rising partnered with Kiva and the Segal Family Foundation to establish this service in the Pittsburgh market.
The Crisis Mitigation Relief Fund (the “Fund”) provides up to $5,000 to small businesses and nonprofits who demonstrate critical economic needs as a result of unemployment or underemployment due to the COVID-19 crisis.
NSR is committed to increasing data sharing and transparency. Please click the Fund Overview image to learn more about applicants, funded organizations, and community needs supported. Special thanks to the generous and timely support of the Hillman Foundation for providing $100,000 in seed funding. Applications are currently closed due to depletion of funds. If you are interested to contribute or partner, please email vibrancyfunds@newsunrising.org or consider making a donation.
Successful applicants receive funds and technical assistance by selecting between two options:
Fund availability is contingent upon available financial resources. New Sun Rising reserves the right to adapt Fund goals at any time to reflect the emerging nature of community needs.
Nonprofits, for profit businesses, social enterprises, and cooperatives in Allegheny and Beaver County, are all eligible to apply. New Sun Rising reserves the right to prioritize support for organizations who have previously participated in our programs. Organizations are not eligible if they have received Crisis Mitigation Relief Funds in the last 12 months, are seeking support for candidate campaigns or other partisan activity, leadership transitions, or start up costs.
Applications to the Fund are to be completed online or, if technology creates a barrier, through an application interview scheduled by emailing vibrancyfunds@newsunrising.org. All applicants are vetted by a diverse Fund Committee, composed of New Sun Rising staff and community representatives, following the Selection Criteria.
Initial application deadline has passed on April 3rd. Applications received by 11:59PM on the deadline dates will receive a notification of their status within one week. Additional dates will be communicated through the New Sun Rising website (newsunrising.org) and social media accounts as determined by fund availability.
As part of the Crisis Mitigation Relief Fund, New Sun Rising and program partners will also provide recipients with support services and educational opportunities. This could include topics such as operations, human resources, finances, and leadership resilience to support organizations through the crisis. Peer support will occur through weekly Vibrancy Corps check ins.
Due to the rapid response nature of this Fund and evolving community conditions, the following criteria will be used to guide due diligence. All decisions will be made by a diverse Fund Committee, including New Sun Rising staff and community representatives, according to the NSR Vibrancy Score Rubric and prioritized using the following criteria:
The Crisis Mitigation Relief Fund is made possible through the responsive and extraordinary support of the Henry L. Hillman Foundation. Please consider a donation to help us support more organizations and leaders through this crisis.
New Sun Rising (NSR) is pleased to invite you to the 2020 Vibrancy Awards – live streamed from the Millvale Food + Energy Hub on June 20, 2020.
We understand that the past few weeks and months have been extremely difficult. Please join us for an evening of reflection, restoration, and celebration through the critical work being done by nonprofits and social enterprises throughout the region. The event will be hosted by Day Bracey, co-founder of Fresh Fest and Drinking Partners Podcast.
Virtual attendees will enjoy segments with the 2020 Impact Awardees in Culture (Brown Mammas), Sustainability (Triboro Ecodistrict), and Opportunity (South Hilltop Men’s Group), and wrap with a restorative DJ set and dance performance with virtual lounges. Make it a special night and invite some friends to enjoy a catered meal from Sprezzatura and special infused tea mixer from Tupelo Honey Teas (pre-order by 6/18 at 5PM)
Community Partner Awardees for Planning (Sharpsburg Community Vision Plan), Resources (Breathe Project), Connectivity (RiverWise), and Identity (Casop: A Requiem for Rice) will also be honored.
In this time of great pain we see the opportunity to rebuild something better. We ask that you join us and show support for the nonprofits and social enterprises who keep our communities sustainable and vibrant. Whether purchasing a ticket, making a donation, or joining as an event sponsor, NSR appreciates your commitment to helping us to strengthen the organizations and communities we serve.
Since 2005, NSR has been a champion for community-driven change by supporting nonprofits, businesses, and coalitions to create a better future for Southwestern Pennsylvanians. NSR works hard to provide accessible training, funding, and networking programs which are inclusive of underinvested populations and their neighborhoods.
Each year, over 170 innovative leaders benefit from NSR capacity building support. Since 2005, our Vibrancy Funds initiative has provide over $4.5 million in early stage funding and financing through fiscal sponsorship, grants, loans, and awards. Your contribution through the Vibrancy Awards will allow us to provide these training and funding programs at low or no cost.
The Vibrancy Awards are made possible through the generous support of:
Learn More About Sponsorship Opportunities
Introduction
The New Sun Rising with support from The Heinz Endowments is pleased to announce this Request for Proposals as part of the Transformative Arts Process (TAP), a Heinz Endowments’ grants program focused on fostering the careers of teaching artists and bringing transformative arts experiences to youth. TAP’s specific goal is to move towards a more Just Pittsburgh by invigorating the field of teaching artists and arts organizations that have a demonstrated practice of challenging structural inequities, bringing transformative arts centered experience to youth in and from African American/ distressed communities.
Transformative Teaching Artist Award Program Description
The Transformative Teaching Artist Awards recognize that quality teaching artists should be recognized for the important work they do in Pittsburgh’s African American and “distressed” communities. Teaching artists play critical roles in the lives of the youth they serve, providing not only artistic skill building, but caring, support and mentorship. Yet those teaching artists who have chosen this as their life’s work face great challenges in building teaching artist careers. Most of our teaching artists are underpaid and under recognized; the delivery system for teaching artist instruction is fragmented; and arts instruction is often not assigned a high priority in public or out of school time programs.
The Transformative Teaching Artist Awards have been created to add another validation, strengthened networking and increased visibility for the artists who choose to do this work amazingly well. It is our hope that these recognition awards can play a part in acknowledging teaching artistry designed to play a transformative role in the lives of youth living in African American, Black, and “distressed” neighborhoods, as an important and recognized profession. The Transformative Teaching Artist Awards program will provide ten teaching artists in the field with a cash award of $5,000. The awards are recognition awards which may be used in any way the recipient deems fit.
Program Goals
Eligibility
Eligible applicants will be teaching artists who meet our definition of a teaching artist as noted in the cover sheet accompanying this RFP. That is, they have a track record of combining artistic skill and the complementary skills of an educator. By track record we mean those teaching artists who have worked at least 1 day a week in an African American, black, or “distressed” neighborhood (the list of eligible neighborhoods is listed at the end of the proposal), for a period of at least 9 months each year for the last two years. In addition, we are looking for applicants who are teaching artists of color.
Teaching artists and other TAP awardees who have previously received the award are not eligible, but welcome to participate in the Teaching Artist awards day.
Selection Process
The decision-making process for this program will feature two components. In the first award component, the 10 strongest applicants will be chosen by a local peer panel. Each recipient will receive an award of $5,000 in recognition of their work as a teaching artist.
The criteria the panel will use for selection follows:
Love: Emanate love and dedication for children and have the ability to build relationships beyond the artistic training components.
Merit: Practice art, have engaging and effective teaching styles that reach students across diverse developmental levels, stimulate quality student work, possess a strong understanding of learning standards in the arts, and have substantial experience working in school classrooms or in out of school time programming.
Justice: Help youth deconstruct issues of oppression in ways that empower and enable them to avoid many of the traps of Black/African American and “distressed” neighborhoods.
Preparation and Adaptability: Demonstrate professionalism, including the ability to plan with others, articulate goals and objectives, and adapt to varying student populations and school environments.
In the second component, awardees themselves will be asked to participate in a day of celebration and learning. Each awardee will demonstrate their work and all participants will engage in the activity chosen for the day by the awardee. The goals of this part of the process are to strengthen the relationships among the cohort by facilitating their learning more about one another’s work and to strengthen the work of the teaching artist through the process of critical review from their colleagues. Awardees will receive an additional $500 award for their participation.
Applicant Support
Application Guidelines
The deadline for this application was 2018. Applications can be submitted in writing, video, or audio. In order to be considered, please include the following:
Proposal: While these questions are short, please answer them as fully as possible, so that your fellow teaching artists will understand your work.
Distressed Neighborhoods List: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B019MINNIui6dDZtREV4dkdHYlk/view?usp=sharing
Letter of Support: Please include a letter of support answering the question: Why is this applicant a transformative Teaching Artist?
Work Samples: Provide samples of your work as a teacher, including lesson plans, examples of student work and ways you assess student learning (where applicable).
Resume or CV: Provide a copy of your resume or CV with your email, phone, and address.
Submit your completed proposal (and/or attachments) to 2018 . Transformative Teaching Artist Awardees will be selected by a peer panel in consultation with The Heinz Endowments.
Questions about the award? Technical questions on applying?
Contact Daniel Stiker at New Sun Rising: vibrancyfund@newsunrising.org
The Vibrancy Funds support people building culture, sustainability, and opportunity within their community.
New Sun Rising is pleased to announce a new funding opportunity to launch organizations and collaborations who build Vibrant Communities. Through the generous support of the Henry L. Hillman Foundation, the following program seek proposals which promote innovation, engagement, and equity in the Pittsburgh region.
New Sun Rising believes that embracing the unique characteristics and knowledge of people is critical to promoting equitable change in our region. By building awareness of our culture, we can better understand the shared values that lead to trust and resiliency.
Projects which engage, explore, or express culture in their communities are encouraged to apply for a $5,000 to $10,000 Launch Culture Grant. While not necessary to apply, preference may be given to NSR Vibrant Communities (Allentown, Beltzhoover, Etna, Knoxville, McKees Rocks, Millvale, Northside neighborhoods, Sharpsburg, Stowe Township, Wilkinsburg), NSR fiscally sponsored projects, and Ignite Culture workshop participants.
In addition to the grant, Launch Culture Grantees will be provided 3 monthly coaching sessions. Questions will be answered by emailing vibrancyfunds@newsunrising.org or attending one of the following information sessions at the Millvale Moose, 112 Sherman St, Milllvale, PA 15209:
Projects supported by this grant can start May 1st, 2018 and must end by November 30th, 2018.
In acknowledgment of the importance and role of culture in our rapidly changing region, successful applicants will be established non-profit (or fiscally sponsored) organizations with a project demonstrating the following:
Equity: activities are aligned with, help to identify, or create community values
Collaboration: creates connections or opportunity for those with barriers
Adaptability: incorporates human-centered design by positioning clients as decision makers
Application deadline is 11:59 PM on April 25th, 2018. Grantees will be notified on May 1, 2018.
A mentoring workshop + pitch competition for projects building community culture
New Sun Rising believes that embracing the unique characteristics and knowledge of people is critical to promoting equitable change in our region. By building awareness of our culture, we can better understand the shared values that lead to trust and resiliency.
Projects which creatively engage, explore, or express culture within their community are encouraged to register for the Ignite Culture workshop on March 24th. Participants will be eligible for awards (taxable) to start their project. While everyone can apply, we strongly encourage projects from NSR Launch communities (Allentown, Beltzhoover, Knoxville, McKees Rocks, Millvale, Northside, Wilkinsburg) and fiscally-sponsored projects.
Registration is full
Ignite Culture propels idea development for businesses, projects, and their leaders through a one day ignite & pitch workshop. Bring your new idea to work through with peers. Those who are interested (up to 10) have the option to enter the pitch competition for $5,000 in total financial awards.
Through a one-page business plan, workshop participants will receive mentoring and a quick primer on pitching your idea. Awarded projects must be completed by November 30th, 2018 and help create community vibrancy.
New Sun Rising is pleased to announce the Vibrancy Funds, a new funding opportunity to launch organizations and collaborations who build culture, sustainability, and opportunity within their community. Led by the generous support of the Henry L. Hillman Foundation, the fund will support people who promote innovation, engagement, and equity in the Pittsburgh region.
Launch Wilkinsburg is a civic innovation lab, supporting the development of a vibrant community through social businesses, nonprofit projects, and community engagement.
Launch Wilkinsburg is committed to equitable community development and implemented in partnership with the Wilkinsburg Chamber of Commerce. In order to determine which areas of impact are top priority, we reviewed community planning documents, surveyed stakeholders through our Vibrancy Index, and held an interactive public forum. This local stakeholder insight and discussions identified community values and priorities for development including:
Additionally, the Ignite Wilkinsburg workshop connected over 30 startup leaders and mentors to further their plans, strategic connections, and identify resources.
One Northside is a community-driven initiative to improve the quality of life in all 18 Northside neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. Since 2016, through the support of The Buhl Foundation, New Sun Rising has helped 250 Northside residents and community members put their ideas into action through the One Northside Consensus Plan’s focus on Quality of Education, Employment, Place, Safety, and Health.
New Sun Rising is the proud steward of the One Northside Mini-Grant program. The program ignites resident-led community projects with up to $1,000 and the support of local neighborhood leaders and New Sun Rising. How would you improve the quality of education, employment, place, safety, or health in your Northside community?
Please sign up for our newsletter for future rounds.
***Community Support: Due of Covid 19 public safety restrictions, please have 3 different Northside residents or business owners email vibrancyfunds@newsunrising.org with their name, the project they are supporting, their Northside address and their phone number; or have them call 412-407-9007 with the same information.
Learn more about the projects and get involved
Mini-grant expands after school reading program in Northside
Placemakers find funding through One Northside Mini-grant program
One Northside mini-grants fund community-driven projects
2018 One Northside Mini-grant Program
Ignite Northside: 2017 Social Business + Project Incubator
Ignite Northside 2017: Showcase + Celebration Recap
iXMessage: An Ignite Northside Story
New Business New Beginnings w/ Riverside Center for Innovation 2016
Family Legacy Dinner: An Ignite Northside Story
Ignite Northside at Heathside Cottage
Removing barriers for kids to participate in music lessons and groups. The Sunburst Music Scholarship Fund depends on your support! Donate with the form on your left or apply to the fund below!
Work Hard Pittsburgh creates services and relationships that position Allentown as the Southern hub for inclusive business development in the City of Pittsburgh and surrounding neighborhoods. Their social impact projects seed programming that will better position the region to grow and attract talent, money, and business. It includes: Launching of a Software Academy that produces 8-15 second-career software engineers every 12 weeks, and Services to the Street produces, distributes, and designs impact measurement of digital media and marketing content to the mainstreet corridor of Allentown.
Meta Mesh has three main projects. First, we work with communities to bring a Community Wireless network to their neighborhood. These programs include installation, consultation, and community maker education for both adults and children regarding wireless technology.
We also develop the PittMesh Community Wireless Network, a community owned, operated, and expanded network that is a network unto itself but can also be used to proliferate Internet access into business districts and impoverished communities without needing to hire an IT company to “maintain” the network.
Meta Mesh Wireless Communities also performs private consulting and contracting related to network administration and wireless network installation. We are fully insured and have years of experience working in server cabinets and on rooftops.
The goal of Folia Water is to provide clean water for some of the 660 million people around the world without access to clean drinking water, with a goal of 100 million people using pAge papers each day at a price point of a penny per day.
Access to clean water is a basic human right. Lack thereof has deprived millions of their dignity, their well-being, and their very lives. In many regions, water is abundant but contaminated by pathogens that cause debilitating and deadly diseases.
The pAge filter is cheap, lightweight for portability, requires no energy or external inputs, and is made of only green reagents and renewable paper. Because the pAge filters are simply paper, educational information is printed on them to educate users about water, sanitation, and hygiene. The papers release silver at concentrations below EPA/WHO guidelines and are thus safe and long lasting: a paper containing mg’s of silver should be able to filter about 100 L of water, several weeks of water for one person. A backpack of filter papers should be able to clean water for a village of 500 people for 1 year, while a pallet can provide clean water for 10,000 people for one year.
Folia Water aspires to create a point-of-use filter paper system at a price point – 10 cents/paper – that is universally accessible to the poorest of the poor: the mg’s of silver in the papers are a negligible contribution to the cost, while a few cm2 of paper costs pennies. Even the poorest will then be empowered to control their own water quality, bypassing expensive large-scale water infrastructure.
Our vision is to provide a range of accessible, effective, robust, and culturally adapted technologies to prevent waterborne illness. All technological advancement is contingent upon literacy and education, so Folia Water products include educational materials that allow users to gain control of their water quality, sanitation and health.